Hitting a Low in Texas

Here in Livingston, Texas, we are hitting a low-point as we enter what seems to be the next leg of our journey. On this blog, we try to share the high points and joys of our trip, peppered here and there with hints of the challenges faced along the way. But today, our spirits are low, our bodies are suffering, and we want to share some observations about what's going on with us.

First, my back is out, and even though I live with chronic pain every day, this is an acute low back pain that has been dogging me for several days. Late this afternoon, Mary took me to see a local chiropractor for me to get some needed treatment, and although I didn't detect any chemical aura in the office when I arrived, I became saturated with something during the almost three hours that I was there (two of which were spent simply waiting to be seen in an uncomfortable, fluorescent-lit treatment room). While the treatment was marginally helpful, I often find that chemical exposures make my back pain worse, and this particular exposure may indeed negate many of the positive benefits of the treatment for which we paid out-of-pocket, of course.

Meanwhile, when I returned to the rig, Mary's eyes began burning and she had respiratory symptoms in reaction to the chemicals on my hair and clothes, so I had to take a shower while we were parked right there in the parking lot, simultaneously hand-washing my clothes in the shower. (We can't use laundromats and other people's laundry facilities because of the fragranced and often toxic laundry products that most people use.) For more information on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, please visit The Canary Report.

As we continue the trip, Mary's MCS is seemingly worsened by the diesel fumes from our rig (and others around us), and we are now contemplating trying to sell it, although we're aware that there are a number of things needing attention, including a slow leak from the transmission and engine block, among other things.

On the bright side, we successfully registered our rig and now have Texas plates, something that will help us to blend in a little more without our tell-tale "Mass-uh-too-shits" license plates. Lamentably, we can't get our Texan drivers licenses until we register our car in Texas, a car which currently lives with our son Rene in Taos, New Mexico. Details, details.......

At any rate, this is yet another low that will no doubt be circumvented and superceded by subsequent highs, but for now, on this evening of January 20th, we struggle with pain, chemical sensitivity, and a sense of rootlessness that, while admittedly self-imposed, is nonetheless disconcerting at times.

Thanks for listening, and sorry for a less-than-entertaining blog post.

---Keith